Knitting machine



K. R. LHEIBERKNECHT KN ITT ING MACHINE Dec. 13, H938.

Filed June 24, 1957 Patented Dec. 13, 1938 KNITTING MACHINE Karl Richard Lieberknecht, Oberlnnndtz, Germany, assignor to Kallo, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application June 24, 1937, Serial No. 150,112 In Germany December 11, 1936 16 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates to improvements in welt mechanism for flat knitting machines, and more particularly to improvements in takeup mechanism for engaging with and tensioning the fold of welt fabric away from the needles.

In the knitting of full-fashioned hosiery on at full-fashioned type machines, it is the usual practice after the knitting of the welt portion of the fabric has been started, for the operator to lay in the welt wires for each knitting section, and to attach these wires to the usual take-up straps by hand. This operation of laying in and connecting the welt wires to the take-up straps takes a considerable amount of time. l5 It is a principal object of the present invention to provide means for simultaneously moving the take-up straps into position to receive a welt Wire positioned against the welt portion of the fabric, and thus to relieve the operator of the necessity for performing this operation manually on each of the several knitting sections of the machine.

It is a further object of the invention to provide` l a take-up strap positioning means of this general description which is particularly Well adapted for use in connection with the knitting of Welt fabric with automatic welt turning devices for connecting the take-up straps and hooks to the Welt Wire.

With these and other objects in view, the

several features of the invention consist in the l devices, combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed which, together with the advantages to be obtained thereby, will be readily understood by one skilled in the art, from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a detail sectional view looking from the left, of a multiple section flat fullfashioned knitting machine, only so much of the machine being disclosed as believed necessary to illustrate the connection of the present invention therewith; Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view illustrating the take-up hook and supporting and guiding means therefor; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the application of applicants invention to three knitting sections of the machine. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate a slightly modified form of take-up hook and supporting and guiding means therefor.

The invention is herein disclosed as embodied in a flat full-fashioned knitting machine may be of ordinary description having spring beard needles Ill movable with relation to a iixed press edge I2 formed on the usual sinker bed plate II4 which is carried on the head rail I6 of the machine and provides a support for the yarn measuring slnkers I8. The machine is also provided with a work table 20 and take-up roller shaft 22 supporting fabric take-up rollers 24, to which are secured take-up straps 26. A take-up ten- 5 sioning strain is imparted to the 'take-up roller shaft 22 by means of a roller 28 having connected thereto take-up tape 30 which passes upwardly over an idler roller 82 and has connected thereto take-up weight 84.` 'I'he roller 28 is con- 10 nected to the shaft 22 by .the` usual pawl 33, ratchet 35 and hand lever 36.

In carrying out the present invention, supporting and guiding means have Ibeen provided for the take-up straps 26 constructed and ar- 15 ranged for automatically moving the take-up straps and the wire hooks 40 associated therewith rearwardly into position for engagement with the usual Welt wires 42 which are laid in to engage with and take up the fold of welt fabric. 20

'I'he mechanism provided for moving the takeup straps 26 and hooks 40 rearwardly into operative position, comprises the draw straps 44 which are attached respectively to the hooks 40 and are arranged to pass over idler rollers 46, and thence 25 downwardly to take-up rollers 48 secured to a take-up shaft 50 extending along the length of the machine below the work table 26. Take-up action is imparted to the draw straps 44 by means of a take-up weight 52 and supporting strap 54 30 which is supported to be wound onto the take-up shaft 50.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated more specically in Figs. 2 and 3, take-up hooks 40 are rigidly secured to a slide member 35 in the form of a cross bar 56 which is arranged for sliding engagement with the stationary guideways 58 rigidly mounted on the machine at each side of each knitting section. The guideways vextend from a point adjacent the knitting sec- 40 tion across the work table 20 to the take-up rolle'rs 24, so that ythe take-up assembly including Welt wire-50, hooks 40 and slidemember 56 will at all times be supported in the line of take-up.

Also, in the preferred form of the device shown 45 in Fig. 2, there is provided on the shank portion of each take-up hook, an upwardly extending guide member or lug 62 which serves as an additional support to hold the welt Wires in their proper position when laid in upon the welt fabric 50 and prior to the movement of the hooks 40 into tensioning engagement therewith. In order to limit the rearwardv movement of the take-up straps 26 and hooks 40 under the influence of the draw straps 4'4 and take-up weight 52, there '55 is provided at each end of the guide members 58, an upwardly extending lug 64 adapted to engage with and arrest the rearward movement of the cross piece 56c thereon.

The operation of applicants mechanism for positioning and operatively connecting the fabric take-up with the Welt Wires on a fiat full-fashioned type machine, may be briey described as follows:

Assuming that in the knitting of a full-fashioned stocking blank on a flat machine of the type illustrated, the setting up of new fabric has been accomplished and that the previously knitted stocking blanks have been removed from the fabric take-up rollers 24, the take-up pawl 33 is disengaged from the ratchet 35 to release the take-up rollers 24 and shaft 22. The draw straps 44 now operate under the influence of their takeup weight 52 to move the hooks 40 and the takeup straps 26 rearwardly to bring the hooks 40 to operative position in which the cross piece 56 riding on the guideways 58 is again engaged against the abutments 64.

As the knitting of the welt portion of the fabric proceeds, the operator may now lay in the welt wires 42 which are permitted to lie loosely on the fabric and the opposing ends thereof are inserted between the hook portions of the hooks 40 and the guard member 62 to maintain the welt wires approximately in the desired position. After a sufficient length of welt fabric has been knitted it is now necessary for the operator only to engage the pawl 33 with the ratchet 35 and by manipulation of the hand lever 36 to apply the take-up tension to the take-up shaft 22 and rollers 24. The regular take-up tension is suflicient to overcome the relatively light tensioning strain applied to the draw straps 44 by the weight 52 so that the hooks 40 will be moved against the welt wires 42 to take up the fabric during continued knitting in the usual manner. With this construction and mode of operation of the take-up mechanism, it will readily be seen that a considerable saving in time is effected which would ordinarily be consumed by the operator in moving the take-up straps 2B and hooks 40 rearwardly and operatively connecting them with the welt wires 42.

'I'he nature and scope of the invention having been indicated, and a particular embodiment of the invention having been specifically described, what is claimed is:

1. In a fiat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises. with a welt Wire, a pair of take-up straps, having attached thereto welt wire engaging members and positioning means arranged to draw the members rearwardly into a position for engagement with the Welt wire.

2. In a nat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a pair of take-up straps having attached thereto welt wire engaging members and positioning means, comprising connections to each of said members, and actuating means for said connections to draw the members rearwardly into position for engagement with the welt wire.

3. In a fiat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps secured thereto having welt wire engaging hooks, and hook positioning meansl arranged to draw the hooks rearwardly into position for engagement with a welt wire.

4. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a Welt Wire, a

'fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps secured thereto provided with welt wire engaging hooks, guides on which the hooks are movable in the line of take-up, and means for moving the hooks rearwardly on said guide into position for engagement with a welt wire held against the welt fabric. v

5. In a at knitting machine, a. fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps secured thereto having welt wire engaging hooks,

' draw straps connected to said hooks,` and means for actuating the said draw straps to move the hooks rearwardly into position for engagement with a welt wire.

6. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps secured thereto having welt wire engaging hooks, and counter take-up means comprising connections to said hooks and tensioning means having a relatively light take-up action to draw the hooks rearwardly into position for engagement with a welt wire.

7. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps Vattached thereto, hooks attached to the straps,

guides on which the hooks are movable in the line of take-up, and means for moving the hooks rearwardly on said guides into position for engagement with a welt wire held against the welt fabric.

8. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a Welt wire, a fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps attached thereto, hooks attached to the straps, each hook having associated therewith a welt wire positioning element, guides on which the hooks are movable in the line of take-up, and means for moving the hooks rearwardly on said guides into position to receive a welt wire held against the welt fabric.

9. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt Wire, a pair of take-up straps secured thereto having welt wire engaging hooks, guides on which the hooks are movable in the line of take-up, draw straps operatively connected to the hooks, and take-up means having a relatively light take-up action to draw the hooks rearwardly on said guides into position for receiving the welt wire held against the welt fabric.

10. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a pair of take-up straps having welt wire engaging hooks, means acting on said straps to take up the fabric, a slide member to which said hooks are secured, guides on which said cross bar and hooks are movable in the line of take-up, and means for moving the hooks rearwardly on the said guides into position for engagement with the welt wire operatively positioned with relation to the fabric and hooks.

11. In a flat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a pair of take-up straps, welt wire engaging hooks attached thereto, having formed on the shank portions thereof welt wire guards,V means arranged to draw the hooks rearwardly, and means for limiting said rearward movement to position.

the hooks for engagement between the hook and guard portion thereof of the welt wire operatively positioned with relation to the fabric and said hooks.

12. In a fiat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises, with a welt wire, a fabric take-up roller, a pair of take-up straps secured thereto having welt wire engaging hooks, a connecting element to which said hooks are attached and guides on which said connecting element and hooks attached thereto are movable in the line of take-up, draw straps connected to move said hooks, take-up means having relatively light take-up action to drawthe hooks rearwardly, and stops for limiting' said rearward movement of the hooks and connecting element to position the hooks for engagement with the welt wlre.

13. In a multiple-section flat knitting machine arranged, for knitting welted fabrics, fabric takeup devices associated with each of the several sections, each comprising with a welt wire, a fabric take-up attachable to the welt wire and arranged to draw oiI the fabric in a take-up direction, and means for returning said take-ups simultaneously into position for engagement with the welt wires.

14. In a at knitting machine arranged for knitting Welted fabrics, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises with a welt wire, a fabric take-up attachable to the welt wire and arranged to draw oif the fabric in a take-up direction, and

,positioning means arranged to return the take-up into position for engagement with the welt wire.

15. In a flat knitting machine arranged for knitting welted fabrics, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises with a welt wire, a fabric take-up attachable to the welt wire having tensioning means including a counterweight arranged `to draw off the welt wire and fabric in a take-up direction, and positioning means including a second counterweight arranged tov return the take-up into position for engagement with the welt wire.

16. In a fiat knitting machine, a fabric take-up mechanism which comprises with a welt wire, a. fabric take-up device including a holder into which the Welt wire can be laid subsequent to the knitting of initial fabric courses, and means for moving said holder to draw off the fabric in a take-up direction, a support on which said takeup including said holder is supported adjacent the needle series for the laying in of a welt wire, and positioning means arranged to return said take-up including the holder into said welt wire receiving position.

KARL RICHARD LIEBERKNECHT. 

